US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced he will not attend a G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in South Africa later this month.

The G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting will take place in Johannesburg on February 20 and 21. Rubio expressed his absence from the meeting on social media on Wednesday.

In his post, he says: "South Africa is doing very bad things. Expropriating private property. Using G20 to promote 'solidarity, equality, and sustainability.' In other words: DEI and climate change. My job is to advance America's national interests, not waste taxpayer money or coddle anti-Americanism."

US President Donald Trump claimed on Sunday that "South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people very badly," suggesting white people were the victims.

Trump went on to say, "I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!"

Elon Musk, a South African-born billionaire who is close to Trump, has also been criticizing South Africa, saying the country is taking discriminatory policies against white people.

In response to Rubio's announcement, South Africa's Minister of International Relations and Co-Cooperation issued a statement on Thursday.

It says: "We are a sovereign and democratic country committed to human dignity, equality and rights. There is no arbitrary dispossession of land or private property."

It goes on to say, "Our G20 Presidency is not confined to just climate change but also equitable treatment for nations of the Global South, ensuring an equal global system for all."

It also says, "These are important principles that we remain open to pursue and engage the United States on."